Beer Chili and Honey Cornbread

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Submitted by tonedef131

This recipe make a MOTHERLOAD of chili, so if you don't want a mother load of chili half it...or do what I do and freeze about half of it.

This is my favorite recipe for chili. I found somewhat of a basic chili recipe that I have changed a bit every time I make it and this is what I have found to be my favorite. However, usually during the summer I delete the chocolate and add in some corn.

Chili Ingredients[edit]

  • 3 lbs ground beef (Get as lean as available, I used my local butchers special grind that is 96% lean)
  • 3 Onions, coarsely chopped
  • 1 Head of garlic, should be about 12 cloves
  • 2 28oz cans of Diced Tomatoes (you can use whole or crushed depending on the texture you like, but leave the juice in)
  • 2 15oz cans of black beans, drained
  • 2 15oz cans of kidney beans, drained
  • 1 can chipotle peppers, sliced, with the adobo sauce from can
  • 1 12oz bottle of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (I bought a 24 oz bottle knowing full well that I only needed 50% of it, the other half was consumed during this very preparation!)
  • 1 can of beef broth
  • 5 Tbsp oregano
  • 1/4 cup chili powder
  • 1 Tbsp Black Pepper
  • 1/2 Tbsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp Cumin
  • 1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke (entirely optional, the adobo sauce is already sort of smokey, so if you don't love a lot of smokey flavor, don't add this.)
  • 2.5 oz Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate (I bought this because it was on sale, you can use any dark chocolate, but I wouldn't recommend using some expensive stuff since all of the complexity would be lost in the chili.)

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Chili Method[edit]

To begin peel your onions and garlic and pour the beer into a big ol pot and get it warming up.

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Now chop the onions and garlic and get a pan warmed with just a bit of olive oil in the bottom.

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Toss the onion/garlic mixture into that pan and saute it. Don't be a fool and put this on high heat and burn them. Use a medium heat and only keep them on long enough to turn them translucent, this should take about 10 minuets.

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Meanwhile you should melt your chocolate in the now warmed beer, make sure you continue to stir so it doesn't melt onto the bottom of that pan.

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Once the chocolate is melted toss in all of your canned goods and spices, stir that around and dump in your onions/garlic as soon as it is ready.

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Now brown your beef in the same pan that you did your onions, I used Worcestershire on my beef because it rules. Then dump that in and bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least a half hour. You may want to taste this after it simmers a bit and add more peppers if you want it hotter.

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While that gets delicious we can make the cornbread. Preheat to 350.

Cornbread Ingredients[edit]

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp oil
  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal

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Cornbread Method[edit]

Mix your dry ingredients, then whisk your wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix the two together and pour into a greased pan or muffin pan. Bake for about 30 min. (At the time of writing this I did not have a cast iron skillet of the right size, but I have learned the error of my ways and will never make cornbread in anything else.)

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About now is where I stick half of it in the freezer and the other half in a crock pot to sit for about 10 hours. Chili is always better the next day.

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Variations[edit]

The dark chocolate can be replaced with 1 cup black coffee for a slightly smokier taste. Older coffee that has been sitting in the pot for a day will usually work better than fresh. Jonathan 19:27, 11 February 2007 (PST)

I just tried this chili with some variations (different beer, still pale ale; added carrots, mushrooms, peppers, and sausage; couldn't find chipotle peppers so I used jalapeño) and it turned out delicious! Has a nice kick at the end, is wonderfully flavourful, and the liquid smoke really comes out. Jiran 19:54, 7 June 2008 (CDT)